## Avicaps Timertable

back to Avicap Index
docu by: Alexander Rawass (alexannika@users.sourceforge.net)
if anyone can write a better documentation - please do it and tell me
This timertable window implements a programable VCR-like mode into avicap.
In the timertable window, you can edit/control the recordings which avicap will do automatically.

- Start the timertable mode
- Editing controls
- Enable and disable entries per checkboxes
- Start the timer
- Sanity Check
- Shutdown mode
- Logout with Avicap
- How I use the timertable

### Start the timertable mode

When you start avicap with 'avicap', the timertable window will be inactive.
To use the timertable, you have to click on 'Timertable' in the menu.
After you've started the timertable, it will remain active, even if you close the timertable window.
At first startup, you'll see an empty table at the top of the window, below you'll find buttons labeled 'new', 'modify' and 'remove'
'new' will create a new entry in the timertable and show the editing controls.

### Editing Controls

With the editing controls, you can set:

- When to record (only once or every day/weekday)
- Date and Time when to start the recording
- the Time when to end the recording
- the channel used for recording
- the filename to save your recording into
- a description of your recording

If you set the 'when' combobox to 'every', you can select in the 'day' combobox which days (every day or every weekday) - the date is ignored with 'every'
If you select 'once', you have to enter the correct date.
At present, it is not possible to select a different codec for each recording, they all use the codec specified in the avicap configuration.
I hope I can change that in the future.
When you've set the correct parameters, press the 'modify' button to commit it actually in the table at the top.
Be aware that you have to click 'modify' to accept the parameters.
When using 'every', the date you might have entered will be ignored, instead the next correct date is entered in the table.
If you click another table-entry instead, your modifications for the old will be lost.
Press 'remove' if you want to remove an entry.

### Enable and disable per checkboxes

You have to activate the checkbox to the left of an entry to enable it for recording.
A disabled checkbox means, that this entry will not be recorded.
This is useful, for daily or weekly recording, etc
If you see that a daily recording clashes with another, you can temporarily disable it for the next day/week, and turn it back on later.

### Start the timer

Press 'Start Timer' to start the timer in recording mode.
You cannot start the timer if there are no pending recordings.
If there are pending recordings, the label on the button will show 'Stop Timer'.
Press to stop the timer.
The timer can only be disabled in-between different recordings, but not while a recording is running? <question: is this sane?>
If you have started a recording with 'Capture AVI' from the main menu directly, this recording will be aborted if a recording programmed with the timertable needs to be done.

### Sanity Check

Avicap will do 'Sanity Check' on your recordings.
If two recordings conflict with each other, Avicap will display this conflict in the status display.
Avicap will display only the first conflict found - there may be more, be warned!
If Avicap reports a sanity check, better modify the times or disable one of the conflicting recordings.
If you don't correct these insane recording settings, Avicap will stop the first recording brutally to start the second (conflicting) one.
It's your own fault them, if you don't care about the sanity of your recordings ;-)

### Shutdown mode

If you activate the 'shutdown' checkbox, your system will go to shutdown after a recording has been done.
This behaviour can be disabled completely by configuring avicap to 'never shut down system' in the general avicap configuration dialog.
Avicap can also shutdown/poweroff your system after a recording and resume/reboot it just before the next recording, implementing a real power-saving VCR like mode, where your computer is off in-between recordings.

### Logout with Avicap

If you want to enable this resume/shutdown, you HAVE to 'quit' per Avicaps shutdown routine.
Don't log out of X and shutdown the normal way anymore.
Use this way:
1. Edit the timertable settings for the next recording, and start the timer.
2. As long as you want to work with your computer, leave Avicap in background running.
3. If you want to power-off your computer (maybe because you've got to go to bed after a long programming session, just like me right now ;-)), close all other applications, get Avicap in the foreground, and set the 'shutdown' checkbox.
4. If your recording is more than <boottime>+<gracetime> in the future, Avicap will pop a requester telling you that it will shut down, counting down.
Ignore it.
5. After some time, Avicap will set the nvram and call the shutdown-script
6. Your system will be sent into shutdown
7. It will re-boot again
8. And get's powered down soon after booting
9. and then, some time, the RTC alarm will power-on again and your system will reboot, starting X and avicap in timermode, waiting for your recording
Read here about Avicaps shutdown&resume capabilities.

### How I use the timertable along with the shutdown & resume mode

I've programmed my timertable for the next two weeks with all the stuff I wanna see, Avicap will be running on my computer in background while I am working with it, and when I do a power-off I am sure that Avicap will power-on itself when it feels the need to watch TV itself ;-)
It's like sort of an external brain, I don't have to think about TV for the next two weeks, cause Avicap will do that for me if I am awake or asleep :-)))
<Humor>
And if I don't have time to watch the session that Avicap has recorded, why worry?
Avicap has watched it, so why should I watch it again?
I think it is just neccessary that anyone watches TV, and it's probably also a good education for my computer if he can watch TV for himself ;-))))
</Humor>